


I Always Knew This Was Coming

by MiloOfTheKey



Series: The Road to the End [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu!sasuke, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, NOT a lemon, Original Character(s), Post-Time Skip, Seal Master! Naruto, Self-insert in style, TAGS ARENT IN ORDER SORRY, mature characters, second in a series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:44:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14005446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiloOfTheKey/pseuds/MiloOfTheKey
Summary: Six years have passed, and Team 7 - Noa's Team 7 - has finally reunited. But now that Noa has the means, she's faced with the task of dealing with the war she knows is looming on the horizon.





	1. PROLOUGE

Underlined - English

‘ _Italicised’ - Thoughts_

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~

**ANBU CROW**

“Crow!” Cat yells out, pulling my attention from the target’s head rolling down the road’s incline. “Hound is close to exhaustion. Take him back to randevious - leave a summon behind to track you.”

I nod once, deftly, before I’m flying through the hand signs and a single elegant crow appears in a puff of smoke. The moment young Kurosora has kicked off the ground and taken flight my old sensei is on my back and I’m headed full tilt to a warded safe house.

 _‘Naruto, Noa,’_ I find myself thinking. ‘ _Where are you now_?’

~~~

**ON-DUTY MEDIC**

“Kaa-chan!” The little girl yells, her voice breaking in the busy hospital room. Even from across the room I can see the nasty laceration across her scalp and the way she sways. Dammit, she must of been in the collapsed building too - why hasn’t she been treated?

“Hey, hey,” I call out to her, kneeling to take her hands - pulling her eyes from the crowd to mine. “What’s your name, sweetie? Do you know what your kaa-san’s name is?”

“H-Harumi,” She hiccups, and I gently raise a hand to seal up her forehead wound. “Kaa-chan’s name is Natsumi. Nensho Natsumi.”

I smile warmly, standing as I hold one of her hands in my far larger one. “Well then, Beautiful Spring. I’ve met your Kaa-chan - she sells ribbons in the market, right? Let’s go find her.”

The thought of seeing her mother and finding someone who had met her - if only in passing - is enough to get her smiling: her tough smile bright and strong framed by her short black hair - achingly reminding me of those I was missing too.

 _‘Sasuke, Ruto,’_ I find myself thinking. _‘Where are you now?’_

~~~

**FUUINJUTSU APPRENTICE**

My back is pressed firmly to the rough stones native to Earth country - Renyard healing immediately the scrapes across my bare hands.

 _‘Dammit Ero-Sennin,’_ I think bitterly. _‘Research doesn’t give you an excuse to not give me backup in IWA territory!’_

I can feel the flare of a jutsu off to my right, and immediately I’ve swiped a bloodied digit across my forearm - a brush already inked appearing in my free hand. Before the chakra dust even settles I’ve inked six rocks with strong explosive seals, sending back my brush in order to scoop them up and lob them out at the enemy-nin.

The explosion rocks the earth, and the combination of the spray of blood and the tremors chases two hawks out of the shrubbery on the cliff -

One pitch black and the other a startling albino, it’s feathers glowing seemingly with a halo in the evening light.

 _‘Noa, Sasuke,’_ I find myself thinking. _‘Where are you now?’_

~~~

**CROW-TAICHO**

My squad lands around me, exactly five minutes before I had ordered to meet. They stand at semi-attention; the lot of them were experienced outside of ANBU, but were rookies inside, I was significantly higher on the totem pole than them considering my four year stint going full dark. I had snooped and found that my rookies - Rabbit, a wiry Hyuuga a few years my senior, Bear, a surprisingly level headed Inuzuka, and the very young Mouse - were all to some degree scared of me, considering my sheer _kill_ count.

But that wasn’t today.

“Mission: guarding within village,” I drill out, my sharp monotone bringing my squad to full attention. “Rabbit, this is a trial - see how long you can hold your Bakugan. Bear and Mouse, you support Rabbit and be vigilant, but because I wouldn’t want you all to grow _bored -_ ” I draw out the word, referencing earlier complaints that I had refused violently to tolerate, “- you get to do that while being completely unobserved by our ward. Be warned - she’s a sensor.”

My rookies all wince, and I feel a job well done.

~~~

**FIELD MEDIC**

“Noa-hasu! Will you do me the honor of sparring you for your hand?” Lee hollers at me as I complete a complicated kata across the Naka river’s surface, “If I fail again I shall hop through Training Ground 44 whilst covered in raw meat!”

I sigh, knowing that Lee wasn’t being serious. Somewhere along the line it became a game for the Konoha 12 - well, Konoha 10 without my boys. They tried to convince as many people as they could that I was dating _____ or being wooed by ______.

(I almost suspect that Shikamaru started it out, and I don’t know how many of them actually know the truth. However it turned out, I was asked by Aburame Shiki last week when I was marrying into her clan - it was working and it was _crazy -_ )

“No, Lee!” I call out, letting my humor show. “You’re going to lose, and when you do you-”

I stumble on my words, falter for just a second before I’m taunting Lee on autopilot.

 _Sasuke is_ here _!_

But he’s still dark and there are nearly two more years to go.

(Lee gets me to spar anyway, but my focus is on the spark of familiar indigo chakra just out of my reach...)

~~~

**THE TRUE TOAD SAGE**

“You said that you had a seal for me, Naruto?” The redheaded Kazekage asks dryly, concealing well his excitement for this new addition.

But I knew him too well. We have spies all over, after all.

“Sure do!” I chuckle, my hands just itching to ink my new design onto my friend. “Shukaku may be friendly now, but this will make it much more comfortable for the both of you!”

He nods once, decisively, before checking the clock on the wall. “Unfortunately, I have a meeting with the council in regards to our current problem of the Akatsuki - this will have to commence later.”

I nod, understanding the issue. I send him a quick wave, already turning to leave his office when his voice stops me. “Naruto, I do have something that might keep you busy while you’re here.”

The scroll carelessly thrown by his sand at my head nearly hits me - that is, would’ve nearly hit me if not for my jounin level reflexes. I glance at it curiously, but before I could even ask my fellow Jinchuriki clarifies the identity of the scroll.

“Noa came to visit last year, shortly after you did. She left this for you if you ever came back, a ‘little bit of home’ as she put it. Temari believes it’s letters and stories from home.”

I gulp around the lump in my throat and reflexively count the months - only fifteen more left.

“Thanks, Gaara.” I get out, voice still rough, “I’ll see you tonight.”

~~~

Across the Nations, a stubborn sage, a deadly crow, and a foreign healer all - for an instant - pause.

Stop.

Because they all feel it, even if they cannot explain and perhaps they will forget, but it is the moment that the path of fate destined for the next coming of the Legendary Three _shifts:_

For no longer are they the new Sannin - the fool with power, the traitor with a deadly path, and a little girl fighting to grow up.

They are something newer, stronger.

And _everything_ changes.

~~~~~~

 


	2. FALLING IN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were all back.

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**TSUBASA NOA**

I yawn lazily, pulling Shikamaru up with me as I stand from beneath the Nara Clan’s oldest oak tree. He grumbles in protest, but I studiously ignore it as I dismiss the blanket we had been laying on and the chess set we’d been using.

“ C’mon Stag. If you had wanted to do this at your place then you should’ve never suggested we keep this all a secret, ” I point out, grinning slightly at my boyfriends typical response.

“ Not that it would’ve mattered much then anyway, Troublesome Woman, ” He bemoans predictably. “ It took me three years to  even get you to let me kiss you. ”

Shooting a grin over my shoulder, I begin to walk towards the woods - already mapping my route home in my head. “ Oh, but Stag, how else was I to keep my purity safe from your highly motivated hormones? ”  I tease lightly.

In just a few of his overly long -  _ (Goddam TALL people!) _ \- strides Shika comes up right beside me, his hand resting with an air of casualness on the small of my back. “ Ah yes, ” He gives an air of remembrance. “ Your … purity. ” 

He nips playfully at my neck, and I laugh at the irony. Nara men may be … lazy, but they do know how to get something done when they need to.

Or when they  _ want _ to.

I blush gently and pull away reluctantly from his touch, “ Teacher’s expecting me. I need to go. ”

With a muttered ‘troublesome’ and a chaste kiss, he agrees - and I whip out my wings and launch into the air.

~~~

**UCHIHA SASUKE**

The door to my room in the barrack creaks open as a silent figure ducks inside. I don’t even bother to look up - my senses long honed telling me I was in no danger, that I knew the intruder - when I sigh and finish zipping my duffle. 

“Hound, I know that you enjoy terrorizing as many of your underlings as possible in any given day, but I share rank with you. Unlike Cat I refuse to call you ‘senpai’ and treat you as far above me,” I drawl, my ANBU Crow persona of dry wit still as firmly in place as my mask.

“Maa Maa Sasuke,” Kakashi complians weakly - and I glance up sharply at the sound of my name. Huh. Hadn’t heard that for six years. “My cute little jounin doesn’t love me anymore - I’m hurt.”

_ Jounin? _

Eyeing the closed door, I pull off my mask and peer at my old jounin-sensei and taicho. “Kakashi,” I start, trying out my words carefully as my heart pounds painfully in my chest. “I am not a jounin. I am a chunin and an ANBU squad captain.”

“Nope!” The dog summoner chirps out cheerfully, and I dare to hope. “You are Uchiha Sasuke, Konohagakure’s elite jounin and Squad 7’s genjutsu expert, didn’t you know?”

Before I can even begin to formulate a response, Kakashi has slung my duffle  - it’s standard to shuffle rooms at random times as to reduce the chance of possible infiltration, this was  _ so _ Kakashi’s doing, the sadistic bastard - and is already striding towards the door. 

“Better get that mask on, Crow,” He calls over his shoulder as I hastily comply. “After all, this may be the last time you ever need to wear it.”

~~~

**UZUMAKI NARUTO**

“Oi, brat!” I hear Jiraiya call from behind me - and I suddenly realize I had left him behind. “Konoha isn’t going anywhere, enjoy the journey!”

I groan irritatedly, slowing my steps to fall in beside my godfather, “I know that Konoha isn’t going anywhere, but we aren’t either!” I grumble. “Anyway, you just want me to edit your newest trashy transcript!”

“My work is not trash!” Jiraiya cries out indignantly. “It’s art!”

“The only ‘art’ of yours I want to look over and  _ fix _ of yours, Ero-Sennin, is your sealing!” I tease, only half joking. “That freeze tag attempt was pitiful! You completely ruined the stabilizing array just by trying to tack on an extra chakra recirculation circuit. If you wanted to deep freeze yourself, I could’ve just asked Haku!”

“Brat! That was one time!” Jiraiya growls, a finger jabbed in my face. “And don’t talk about that brat and his ice! I still have nightmares from visiting Kiri!”

I snort, eyes on the road ahead, “Well  _ their _ ice is just fine for a perv like you! You should’ve known better than flirt with them - even is Zabuza wasn’t there, Haku has nothing against protecting themselves. And as for Kiri in general? Your own damn fault for flirting with the new Mizukage.”

“But-but-but-!” Jiraiya sputters, but I laugh once without sympathy and launch myself into the trees. 

“C’mon Ero-Sennin! I’ve waited six years - I don’t want to wait any longer!”

~~~

**SENJU TSUNADE**

Just as I had timed it - Noa vaults through the window, Naruto bursts through the door, and Sasuke slinks in through the ANBU routes - all at exactly the same time.

They all freeze - taking in each other - in a rough triangle in my office, and I take a moment to really see them as how they changed over the past six years.

After all, the jump from 13 to 19 is quite a large one.

Noa is familiar, the changes that happened were gradual - I saw them all happen. She wears thick, sturdy black boots and chainmail leggings under her black knee length pants and steel grey slanted belt. Her armored vest is a halter now (after a few times too many of punching holes in her tops) and in the same olive green as all those years ago - though it hugs her tighter than when she was younger. As she freezes at the sight of her teammates the light catches off her armored elbow and knee guards and the glint of the plates on the back of her gloves. Her hitai-ate - now worn bolted to her belt like her adoptive father. Having long since given up on taming her chaotic hair, she simply wears it in a thick and serviceable braid down her back and a swatch of light green cloth keeping flyaways from her eyes. 

Long gone was Sasuke’s wide necked Uchiha traditional wear, six years going dark in ANBU instilling comfort in the standard uniform of a tight black tank top with a high neck, black jounin pants, and taped ankles. A katana was strapped to his back - handles crossed with ANBU’s standard tanto - and as he recognized his old team he aborted his movement to draw it. His red ANBU tattoo stands out on his pale and scarred arms, and there’s a new scar running from his left ear down to his right collarbone - still pink from when an enemy tried to cut his throat - and his messy, shoulder length hair barely covers it. He looked like a veteran of the wars, and I knew that six years in ANBU is never easy.

But they had been around - in the village, even if they hadn't been face to face with each other. It was Naruto who had changed the most.

What was most eye catching was the cloak - so painfully like Minato’s - that he now wore, the mark that he had achieved the title of Sage. It was red to Minato’s white, and the flames licking the bottom were black - but it was as eye catching as the massive scroll strapped to his back and the glint of calm determination in his eyes. He still wore orange, of course - not even six years of intensive training can beat that out of him - but it was confined only to his jacket in a dark, jewel toned color. Mesh armor came down to his wrists and his ankles were taped over his black jounin pants. He grew up.

They all did. 

They were all taller - although Sasuke still held the lead and Noa was the furthest behind. They were all powerful - albeit in different fields. They were all well on the way to passing their predecessors - if they hadn’t already - and…

They were all back. 

~~~~~~   
  



	3. TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Report," Danzo-sama orders.

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**UNNAMED**

“Report,” Danzo-sama orders, and I comply immediately.

“ROOT agent T-16,” I state for clarification, as we are all the same. “Reporting on long term observation of one Tsubasa Noa, current jounin of Konohagakure no Sato. Tsubasa Noa has been reunited with Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto and ANBU-taicho Uchiha Sasuke. She was first spotted together with them, Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and Godaime Senju Tsunade two days ago while traveling to training ground 7. There Tsubasa, Uzumaki, and Uchiha proceed to group spar against Hatake in an attempt to retrieve a bell from him. Said spar seems to have also served as a replacement for the jounin exam, as Uzumaki and Uchiha now are registered as official jounin of Konoha.”

Danzo-sama takes a moment to consider this, and I am rock solid and still as I wait for his gesture to proceed. When it comes I continue on without delay, “Uchiha demonstrated abilities quite similar to Hatake in stealth, speed, endurance, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. His genjutsu with and without the Sharingan seem to have passes Hatake in skill, based off outward reactions, and his proficiency with the Sharingan has reached a level to at the least match Hatake. He has three tomoe.”

After a brief - very brief, ROOT always is prompt and obedient - moment to gather my thoughts, I continue on succinctly: “Uzumaki has proven proficient in both the creation and utilization of seals - a method similar to how the Yondaime was rumored to transfer seals by touch was demonstrated by him with the use of a paralysis seal at the end of the spar that Hatake was unable to release himself from. I did not observe any use of the Sage arts, however. Uzumaki’s ninjutsu, taijutsu, and fuuinjutsu seems to be on par with if not past the level of the first Toad Sage.”

My report finished, I await further orders - only to be surprised when instead Danzo-sama begin to muse aloud, and not at me.

“She’s shown proficiency in taijutsu with that blasted Green Beast, and is well on the way to surpass Tsunade. She’s … 19. Her kekkei genkai is invaluable … but her position as clan head makes the Clan Restoration Act far more difficult to push on her … She has objected to its use in the past as well … and as the years have passed she’s both gained friends and allies and blocked me at every turn. She can’t be allowed to just run free.”

“T-16,” Danzo-sama states, finally addressing me. “You have been a main source of information in this case. She still has yet to sense your drawings?”

“Hai, Danzo-sama,” I affirm. “I have conjectured that she likens them to the chakra levels of a small animal.”

“Good,” Danzo-sama muses yet again, and yet again he is no longer addressing me but the air. “Those rumors are notoriously hard to prove true. It seems to be a joke among most of the community to make that girl some prize that many men - even  _ women _ \- seem to be going after and fighting over. That is not good - if she gets mixed up with some  _ woman _ or with some genetically incompatible then her bloodline may very well be lost …”

Silence, and as ever I am as still as a statue with a spine of steel.

“Keep an eye on her relationships. See if you can pin down which of her teammates or friends she is involved with in such a way. Report immediately if you find she is growing closer to anyone in particular.”

“Hai, Danzo-sama.”

He studies me for a moment, and stands from his rather regal chair. “Agent, what is a name you have used in the past?”

I freeze for less than a millisecond before I answer, as hesitantly as any ROOT agent can, “I have been called Sai, Danzo-sama.”

“Sai,” He echos, and I stuff deep down the part of me that cringes at the the way he says the name that Shin-nii gave to me. “Sai, you are now to begin to interact with Tsubasa on a semi-regular basis. Begin to establish a relationship. We may need a more direct source - though continue your other duties all the same.”

“Hai, Danzo-sama.” I feel a thread of apprehension. “I will do my best.”

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

I don’t know why the timeline has changed as much as it has.

Well, okay. That’s a lie. I totally know why the timeline has changed so much. I may or may not have booted Sakura off her kinda-rightful place on the team to become the Neo-Sannin. I also drop kicked Sasuke off his path of revenge, gave Ruto a significantly nicer childhood, and made friends with all of the old Konoha 12. 

And that was all just early on - I also inadvertently saved the lives of both Haku and Zabuza in wave. And deterred the interest of Orochimaru, forcing him to split it between me and Sasuke while also ensuring that my boys were far smarter and more trained this time around. I saved the Sandiame’s life and kept Sasuke from defecting while still ensuring that Tsunade became Hokage, (which was pretty big).

I strengthened Ruto’s relationship between him and Jiraiya - while also telling him off. (I told a lot of people off.) I deterred Danzo’s plans and managed to instate myself and my team as Clan Heads, solidifying our influence. Somehow the ‘time-skip’ went from two and a half years to 6. 

(And I totally stole Temari’s future husband. (Sorry, not sorry. I’d gladly be essentially a homewrecker for my Shika.))

So yeah, I made a bunch of changes.

But why has Akatsuki not attacked yet? Because they knew that Ruto wasn’t here? They attacked Konoha targeting him, right? And he just happened to not be here - instead off training to be a Sage.

No Ruto means no captured Kurama which means no imminent threat of war... Somehow they never went after Gaara, but many things could be the reason for that. Zabuza, Haku, the Sandaime, Gekko Hayate, and a lot of other people are alive when they weren’t ‘supposed to’ - who knows how many people  _ died _ because of them? Or continued to live?

(Butterfly effect: didn’t really believe it till I realized I was living it.)

Is it possible to avoid the war completely? How many of the Akatsuki are still on board, and how many dropped out like Orochimaru? Does Nagato still follow his same path? How many Jinchuuriki have been killed and their bijuu captured? Will I ever know?

Could I have done more?

~~~

Ruto laughs so hard he - fancy fancy Sage he is - falls off of his Ichiraku's stool.

“Shikamaru  set everyone up to do  _ what? _ ” He demands breathlessly. “ You mean he seriously has half the village debating which other member of the Konoha 12  you’re  _ dating _ ? ”

Sasuke ‘hns’ smugly from my other side, and I shoot him a toothy grin. “ It spread even into the Corps, ” The smug ex-taicho adds. “ Those who didn’t know who I was behind the mask occasionally would speculate around and sometimes even  _ with _ me. It was rather disturbing how often my name come up. ”

I snort again, and have to push back the mental image of how Ino or canon-Sakura would react in this situation in my place, “Ew. I don’t date my brothers, I’ll leave that up to the Kurama Clan. They’re messed up enough for that.”

“ But who do the most people think you’re with? Is there a majority? ” Ruto pushes on, and I shovel ramen into my face to get out of answering. 

“ Not really, ” Sasuke saves me. “ But in terms of who comes up a lot - besides you and me? - Shino, Kakashi, Neji, Lee,  and Ino  top the list. ”

Ruto chokes on his ramen, and I have to pound him on the back a few times to clear his airways. “ _Whaaaaaat?_ ” He draws as his eyes go as wide as his ramen bowls. “I can mostly get us, Neji, Ino, and Lee - but _Kakashi_ and _Shino?_ ”

“Kakashi  I have no explanation for. ” I clarify, indignant. “ He’s another one of my brothers - and he’s like 14 years my senior ” - (If you don’t count my memories of another life, cuz then I’m both nearly two years his senior and 16 years Shika’s senior. We don’t think about that.) - “ And apparently  _ anyone _ interacting with an Aburame  any more than three times in a week ‘ _ must be fucking them _ . _ ’ _ This is what I get for being a good friend! Honestly! ”

(After Ruto’s laughter goes on for more than five minutes, I hit him with a good sized kick to his shins and he shuts up.)

~~~

**UZUMAKI NARUTO**

The moment that the council meeting is in session I know that something is up.

Out of the folder I brought for notes and bored doodling alike I bring out a single thick piece of parchment - out of the corner of my eyes seeing Noa and Sasuke mimic my actions.

After too long of having letters that told of important news weeks after they happened, I decided to try and develop a system of more instantaneous communication. It was short range, but after a year I managed to develop three sheets of parchment that would mimic each other. 

Write on one, it appears on the other.

(Jiraiya bet I couldn’t do it. He owed me ramen for a month after I pulled it off.)

_ ‘ _ _ Something’s up _ _ ’ _ I scrawl in english across the page.

_ ‘ _ _ Your fault, you two, _ ’ Noa’s neat loops write back.  _ ‘Silent for six years with only the occasional attempted dick move? Yeah, it’s totally you. Troublesome, you owe me dango for this. _ ’

_ ‘ _ _ That’s just rude, _ _ ’ _ Sasuke fires back in his meticulous hand.  _ ‘ _ _ And cut it out with the ‘troublesome.’ You may be practically the next Lady of the Shadow Clan, but you’re not a Nara yet. _ _ ’ _

_ ‘I resent that. _ ’ Noa jokes back, but whatever else she was going to say was cut off by Baa-chan bringing us all to order.

~~~

_ ‘ _ _ Called it, _ _ ’ _ Noa writes in bold, annoyed letters when Danzo calls attention ‘one last matter.’

“It is concerning,” The one eyed jerk starts, and I have to suppress a shiver at his dry, monotonous tone. “That rumors have been cropping up in the small village Moeru, in the northern part of the Land of Fire - near the border to Grass Country - that surviving Tsubasa clansmen have been attempting to establish headship.”

(Stunned as I - and the room as a whole - may be, I can’t help but scribble a quick ‘ _ Or not _ ’ on the paper before turning back to the discussion.)

Noa takes a second to gather herself, and then turns to face the elder with a positively neutral expression. “Shimura,” She addresses, as always forgetting - on purpose or not - any honorifics. “This is a matter that I should’ve been alerted of immediately and  _ privately _ \- not to be brought before the whole of the council for your own personal gain.”

(The old bags that are the Advisors flinch minutely, showing to the room - who were paying attention - that they also knew of the matter and Danzo’s plan. Jiji doesn’t look happy though, and I can tell that six years has put strain on that relationship possibly past repair.)

“I apologize,  _ Tsubasa _ ,” Danzo apologizes, not sounding apologetic at all. “But I was merely concerned that this conflict of interest may sway your position in this meeting - and maybe even your loyalty to this village.”

‘ _ That was weak. He didn’t expect you to fight back, _ ’ Is Sasuke’s thoughts on that.

I scoff outright, and the room turns their attention to me. I shrug, and gesture at the room. “This is pathetic,” I declare - scoffing again. “Ero-sennin was in and out for two decades before taking a twelve year stint away.  _ Baa-chan _ \- y’know, our  _ Hokage _ \- was gone for twenty years before coming back to take the hat.”

I scan the room, seeing how much affect my words have. “If you question the loyalty of one of our top medics and elite jounin over a conflict of interest she  _ didn’t even know existed _ then why do you not question theirs? Mine? I’ve been out of village for how long? Six years? Yet my position is not questioned.”

“She is a bastard child,” Danzo tries again, with far more bite than he deserved to give. “The Tsubasa may contest her position.”

“Or they may not,” Ino’s dad cuts in. “This may be incentive for powerful shinobi to join our village - why deny them the chance?”

“And as Tsubasa-sama said,” Choji’s dad adds. “This is not a matter to discuss here - at least for the moment. Tsubasa-sama is to deal with this to the best of her ability first before it becomes our concern.”

“Good point, Chouza,” Baa-chan grits out. “Discussion closed. Noa, deal with it.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.”

~~~~~~


	4. THE INEVITABLE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket if this all goes to shit.”

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**TSUBASA NOA**

“Little feather,” Tsunade calls out to me as the meeting ends. “A word.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” I affirm, turning to my squadmates. “ I’ll meet you guys at the compound to talk about all this shit. Teach comes first, though. ”

~~~

“Danzo can’t be trusted.”

“...”

I stare down my mentor for the last six years, and the only strong female role model that I had in this life. “Tsunade-shishou,” I start, my words deliberate. “I have never - from before I even  _ met _ the  slimy git \- trusted Danzo nearly as far as I could throw him. And I am _ very _ interested in finding out how far that is.”

Tsunade sits back, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at me behind her desk. “Why?”

I blink, confused. “Why, what?”

“Why -” The Godaime starts, words carefully chosen but deceptively light “- Do you not trust Danzo?”

I slump back on the couch, toying with the answer in my mind. I had been putting off for - (what very well may be) - too long finding someone to give the most of my information to. I needed someone who wouldn’t lose trust in me despite how much I had been lying.

Was Tsunade it?

No.

No. Because she has been betrayed by those that she has trusted before. I can’t do that to her. Not now.  
“Because,” I start, tasting the words. “I hold no illusions that although Konoha may be the most peaceful of the Hidden Villages, that in no way means that there are no traitors or deceptors.”

Standing, I go to the shelves where I know that my drunk of a teacher hides her booze, and I remove a bottle. When I turn back to face the Last Senju, I can see her too-sharp eyes following my every m0ve. 

(Good luck unnerving me like that. I’m practically a Nara already at this point. They’re known for that kind of shit.)

“The Sandaime was not a good Hokage,” I declare with finality, knowing that Tsunade was fully aware of how I felt about her old sensei. “He let too much go. And when I saw one crack, logically I had to look for others. It didn’t take long for me to find … unsavory things.”

As I pop the seal on the sake, I count my lucky stars that I was actually able to find physical evidence that wasn’t just  _ ‘P.S. I’m from another dimension _ .’ Just not as early as I was claiming. I pour us each a rather generous bowl, and down mine in an instint.

“You know about the massacre.” 

The Legendary Sucker’s voice is low. Level. Steady. But I know that one false word, one false start and it all goes to shit from here. 

“As do you,” I shoot back, just as calm.

“Noa. This is not a joke.” 

I furiously stomp down on my emotions - the seal on my back tingling. “Do you think I’m treating it like one?” I ask, voice mild but holding back poison.

There’s a tense pause. 

“Do you really think you have family down Moeru?” Tsunade asks in a far lighter tone.

“My family is here, Tsunade.” I correct, choosing to ignore the subject change. “And I don’t know what to think about this claim to have clan members up north.”

Another pause, this one far more contemplative. 

“Take a team. I’m limiting you to a squad of four - you, Kakashi, and two more of your choice who  _ aren’t  _ Sasuke or Naruto. I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket if this all goes to shit.”

“Hai, Tsunade-shishou.”

~~~

**UZUMAKI NARUTO**

When Noa enters the house only to immediately collapse onto the nearest coach, I know just how bad it all is.

“ So it’s most likely a trap, then? ” Sasuke comments mildly, humming thoughtfully at Noa’s tired shrug. “ Your team? ”

“ Me, the Scarecrow, and two more who aren’t either of you, ” Noa grosses out, and I have to hold back a groan. “ _Teach doesn’t want ‘all of her eggs in one basket.’_ ”

“ Which is bull, ” I grumble. “ Team 7 works better as a  _ team _ . Splitting us up won’t help anyone. ”

“ Which is why - ” Noa starts with a tone of finality, sitting up. “ When you become the Fire Shadow, you sure as hell have your head out of your ass and corrupt officials out of your councils! ”

Sasuke just snorts, “ As if we’d let him slide that far. ”

“ Point ,” The medic volleys back lazily. “ Who should I take with me? ”

I sigh, preparing myself for a long discussion. “ Well, ” I start - pulling out a complex containment seal that was bothering me, “ The question is what do you honestly expect to find there? I mean - ”

“\-  What Useless means is that your response is different based of whether it’s a trap or not, ” Sasuke cuts over me, smirking at my mock-hurt look. “ Trap? Bring a White-Eye or a Dog. ”

I chime in seamlessly, following his train of thought, “ And if it’s not? A Mind Reader or Shadow User. Someone good with words. ”

Our honorary sister and teammate seems to think it over, humming slightly and eyes glazing in thought as she leans back onto the couch.

“ You’ll need someone who can put up with Scarecrow’s quirks, ” I point out with a laugh. “ And if you want to keep up your charade with the whole ‘who’s dating who’ thing then you probably need at least one of your ‘dates’ with you, especially if the Council may find out you chose the team mostly yourself. ”

“ She does already have Scarecrow though, ” Sasuke counters from where he settled on the couch to sharpen his tanto. “ If it’s a choice between charade and keeping safe then I’d say safety first. ”

“ I think that I’ll be able to handle the talking, for the most part … ” Noa interposes. “ But if the Council is going to make a move, it isn’t going to be some little skirmish. It’s going to be big. I need a balanced team for that. ”

Sasuke and I share a look above Noa’s prone form, and I can tell we’re both thinking the same thing.

_ ‘Speculation is one thing, but she actually thinks it’ll come to blows?’ _

But we push past it. Put our faith in Noa as always. Look past the doubt to where the trust is.

“ Balanced team means that you need real variety to tackle anything that’s thrown at you, ” I vocalize instead of pondering on just what my fellow orphan was getting into. “ You’ve got hand-to-hand, medical support, and weaponry. Scarecrow’s got his Eye, Illusions, Tricks, tracking, and Special Ops training. You need a long range and possibly another support. ”

“ Just make sure it’s someone competent ,” Is all Sasuke has to add.

Aneki purses her lips, “ How do Shino  and Shikamaru  sound? ”

Sasuke pauses in the middle of a stroke of his whetstone, “ Actually … that should work. ”

“ Long range, a ‘date,’ and people you know and trust, ” I aquiess, nodding along. “ You worked with Bug-Boy before? ”

Noa just shrugs, pulling herself up from the coach - (hopefully to cook, I’m starving!) - “ Not really, but we have sparred and I’m familiar with his techniques. ”

She saunters over to her shoe-rack, yanking her boots out carlessly. “ I’m gonna go find my squad. I’ll say goodbye tomorrow, but - ” Noa smirks, cocking an eyebrow suggestively. “ Don’t expect me back tonight.”

I nearly gag at the implied reference to her sex life.

_ ‘Didn’t need to know that thank you!’ _ My brain sputters out.

~~~

**‘SAI’**

I have my ink animals follow my target at a distance until she finishes what seems to be her official submission of her Squad.

Notable. I was unaware that Shinobi were permitted to have an opinion on whom they worked with.

She stops into a drug store - the address of which I dutifully note, as is expected of me - and I chose to use this opportunity to interact with my target.

(Idly, I realize I have never been inside a drug store.)

A bell chimes, and my instincts are to immediately wipe out any witnesses before I realize that the civilian owner of the shop was not a threat. And Tsubasa was my target, but not of an assassination. Only to talk to.

Talk. Right.

Tsubasa seems to be over near where the owner stores alcohol, picking up a case of beer. Why would she drink, if before a mission?

I approach her.

When my target turns, I notice first confusion and then surprise in her eyes. But then her eyes show something else, and I do not know what that emotion is.

I read that you should greet someone you meet for the first time by introducing yourself.

“Hello. I am Sai.”

Something flashes through her eyes - quickly - at my name, but it goes quickly. “Hiya,” Tsubasa greets back. “Name’s Noa. I like your name, I actually use sai as one of my primary weapons.”

She … likes my name? That was a compliment, no?

“Why are you drinking before you go on a mission?” I ask.

After all, if you don’t know, you should clarify, correct? Maybe she would correct her error now that I have pointed it out.

Noa blinks once, slowly, and I notice for the first time that her eyes vary in shading. Dark on the edges of the iris and light between. Something about them makes me just want to whip out my brush and paint them.

Her voice pulls me from my thoughts, “Because I can. And because I’m a medic and I can damn well metabolize it before I get hungover.”

I think on that. 

“Sounds logical,” I decide aloud, and Noa laughs. Is she laughing at me?

“Yeah, I like the sound of that. ‘Logical.’ More like just irresponsible enough and just skilled enough to get away with a bad decision and breaking rules,” Noa … corrects me. But it isn’t a criticism. Odd.

“One should follow the rules set by superiors,” I remind her.

Noa doesn’t seem to take my warning to heart. She cocks her head, those shaded eyes studying me like no one else ever has. Even Shin. 

“Maybe,” She finally says. “But as shinobi we must always be aware that as much as we lie, those around us will lie as well. A rule set by a superior or a client may not be in the best interest of ourselves, our teammates, or the village. If we know for sure that a rule is ineffective, or that a rule may do more harm than good, must we still follow it?”

I blink, and she’s gone - the bell chiming behind her.

~~~

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

The ANBU that lands in front of me is frankly unexpected. After all, I already have a mission tomorrow, and I haven’t broken any more rules than usual.

“Hatake-san. You are to report immediately to the Hokage Tower to meet with Hokage-sama,” The Mouse masked ANBU reports. Aw, one of Sasuke-chan’s little ANBU is branching out with his captain gone.

Cute.

Well, the Hime can wait a couple hours.

~~~

“Glad to see you finally dignified us with your presence, brat,” Is my greeting from the Hokage when I finally vault in through the window.

‘Us’ meaning Gai, Shikaku, Tsunade, Tonton, Shizune, and myself. 

This isn’t just some little meeting. 

_ ‘Maybe I should’ve been on time …’ _

“What is this about?” I get out, examining the room. With this assortment …

“Nothing discussed here leaves this room,” Tsunade orders in place of a response. “This is about Noa.”

I feel my stomach drop, but the Godaime’s expression is grimm and frustrated, not worried or angry. She’s probably fine. Probably.

“What about Noa-hasu?” Gai asks, abandoning his headstand and sounding the kind of serious he only gets when Noa is the topic of conversation. 

The Head Medic massages her forehead, and I feel myself getting more and more on edge. “In recent years,” Tsunade grits out in an impossible to name emotion, “Shikaku, Shizune, and myself have all started to notice things about Noa that don’t line up.”

“You don’t mean that you think she’s a spy? A traitor?” I ask in horror, unable to even comprehend the accusation.

Thankfully Tsunade simply shakes her head, “No. She has proven her loyalty to this village and those in it far too much and too early on for any chance of that. No, it’s more like she happens to have the village’s interest in mind while also knowing more and being able to do more than she’s letting on.”

Gai vocalizes my thoughts before I can, “How do you mean?”

Shikaku chips in for the first time at that, expression typically blank. “Her vocabulary for one.”

Immediately I make the connection, “You mean her English.”

The Jonin Commander simply nods, “I may not be one of the people that was taught English, but a toddler should not have the vocabulary to understand and explain detailed concepts in her native language with only one person to teach her. I looked into the reports of the ANBU assigned to attempt to decode her language and then cross referenced them to the reports that you, Kakashi, made. 

The issues of syntax, pronunciation, homophones, and general sentence structure would’ve been overcome over time. The problem was vocabulary.”

“They were looking for patterns in the kinds of words that a three year old would’ve know,” I finish for him, feeling grim.

“I once asked Noa-hasu where it was that she learned such unyouthful cuss words…” Gai muses, “She told me it didn’t matter.”

Tsunade sits forward at this, seeing that Gai and I were finally realizing just how significant this all was. “Noa always seems well informed on the kind of things that only the Hokage and those directly involved should know. She claims that she listens, goes looking on her own - but that can’t all be it, though I’m sure that’s it's part. Kakashi, Gai. Are there  _ any _ times where Noa did something - said something - that she shouldn’t have known to do? Anything at all?”

I think back. I don’t want to, but I do. But once I look it’s all there: Noa knowing about me, the bell test. Asking for the escort mission as our first C-Rank, her talking down Zabuza. Her family, her bloodline limit. The fights, the forest of death. When she lectured the Sandaime, Jiraiya and my relationship with Naruto. Her attitude towards Danzo …

“Yes,” I confirm when I find my voice. “Yes, she has shown that.”

Tsunade sits back in her chair, her mouth fixed into a grim line. “Well then. We compare notes on Noa, and then tomorrow when  Kakashi goes to Moeru, you are find out everything you can about where the hell my mysterious apprentice came from.

~~~~~~

 


	5. THE TOPAZ AMONGST THE JADE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moeru is quiet when we arrive.

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**TSUBASA NOA**

With a satisfied groan, I roll over into Stag’s warm side - the old bed creaking with the simple movement. The morning light persists just beyond my eyelids - insisting that I open my eyes - and when I give in to the sun’s demands I can just barely see the wall of the disused room over Shika’s miles of tanned chest.

Worse things to wake up to, I’d think.

Knowing I had obligations (and Shika could only disappear for so long) I get up - dressing from the sloppy pile of various clothing items on the dusty floor. I frown lightly at the dirt stains on my vest - there were only so many advantages to ‘meeting’ in an abandoned Nara house on the edge of the property.

Eh. Shika was worth it.

Speaking of the great lump of concentrated laziness and shadows, the man himself is finally stirring due to the sudden lack of my body heat next to him. Maybe a few years down the line we wouldn’t have to hide like this -

Stop that thought. After the war that only I knew was coming - only after that will I allow myself to think about the future. Not now.

With a parting kiss from my sleepy boyfriend, I slip out the door silent as night and take to the skies.

~~~

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

When Noa shows up, all worries about trust and what she was keeping from us were thrown out the window at the sight of the disgusting mark on her neck.

_ “Chibi-chan _ -” I start, my voice dangerous as I begin to plot the death of various suspects. “Is that a  _ hickey _ I see?”

Noa - who had frozen at my tone - doesn’t have time to stop her hand from flying up to cover the heinous mark next to her Seal. She aborts the movement too late but tries to cover it up with an awkward laugh. “Kakashi,” She tries to play off. “Don’t be so protective. It’s just something I got from sparring.”

As I begin to formulate the words for a ban from any such type of ‘sparring,’ the Aburame Heir shows up only to catch the tail end of the conversation.

“Speaking of, Noa.” Shino chimes in (and I feel my eyes bulge at the lack of honorific. I had  _ heard _ those rumors thank you, but -) “You and I should spar after this mission. I would much enjoy a rematch.”

Oh. A ‘rematch’ is it? 

_ Not on my watch _ -!

Noa just laughs and agrees, and I’ve already begun to plot the imminent destruction of the Aburame heir when Shikamaru shows up.

He takes one look at what I suppose must be a very dangerous expression on my face, glances at Shino and Noa, and takes a prudent step back. 

_ “Troublesome _ …” The shadow user grumbles.

~~~

**UCHIHA SASUKE**

Just as my training demanded for the past six years, I rise before the sun.

However, I did not expect Naruto to be awake as well.

As I sip my tea, exiting the compound, I allow myself a moment to be surprised before settling down beside a meditating Naruto. As I peer at his stoic features, there’s just a hint of orange around the fuuinjutsu master’s eyelids.

Mediating to align with nature chakra, then.

I leave the Sage to do his Sage-y things as I sit straight backed, watching with nostalgia the view of the rising sun from the Uchiha compound. I’d missed this.

When I was in ANBU, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was the little things you missed when you go dark. The taste of the tea Noa made. Naruto’s laugh. Meals after training, just the four of us. And the sunrise above my clan compound. I had wanted to watch this sunrise for six years.

_ ‘And now I’m doing it next to my closest friend-’ _

\- That thought caught me off guard. Did I consider Naruto the one I was closest to?

I guess so. Before … before the world ended and I lost everything, Noa and Itachi and my mother were the ones I turned to - who I went to for attention or comfort or to impress. But that was before.

After?

It was both of them, at first - Naruto and Noa. Naruto and I were still rivals and didn’t always get along and Noa always knew what to say but was so distant…

But when Noa started to seek out Shikamaru, I started to seek Naruto - and I realized that as much as I loved Noa, I loved Naruto just as much … but differently. 

I guess it took me six years with no true identity and only my thoughts for intimate company to realize it. Noa was family.Kakashi and Tenzo were family but -

Maybe Naruto was a little more.

But that doesn’t matter now. Neither of us are going anywhere - so I’ll live in the moment. Enjoy the sunset I missed next to the man I missed.

With a smile on my lips I don’t bother trying to hide, I sip my tea.

~~~

**TSUBASA HIROMA**

I look down at the Root operative kneeling at my feet.

Without saying a word, I hold out my hand and a scroll appears in it so fast that had I not been jounin level myself I would’ve doubted the figure had moved at all. Pity the meagre number of Tsubasa left were not so highly trained.

Hino was not a jounin, for one. And as I break the seal on the scroll and begin to read, my peripheral picks up her startle at the movement and the sway of her stick straight jade hair as she rocks back on her heels.

_ ‘Green hair, _ ’ I think idly as I scan the document.  _ ‘Another indication that the demon child was a pest to begin with,’ _ I think as I tuck my own emerald locks behind my ear.  _ ‘No true Tsubasa has dark hair. _ ’

Pushing bitter thoughts aside, I turn to the message - ignoring the messenger. 

… So the upstart girl was coming after all. Bringing a Aburame, a Nara, and Sharingan Kakashi with her.

That may be a problem. If indeed the false Clan Head -  _ my _ rightful place - is Hisoka as I dread-

Well, they do not know our ways nor our jealously guarded Kekkei Genkai. The girl is not tied by blood - she cannot possess it. We shall overpower them easily.

After all, a chakra corrupted demon trash whore holds no challenge to a name as prestigious as the Tsubasa.

I have the backing of the true Konoha, after all.

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

Moeru is quiet when we arrive.

I immediately am on guard.

I think back on what I know about the town as I scan the barren remains of a market. Moeru … used to be a small village, a hamlet really, before the last Shinobi war pushed too far past the borders into the nearby fields resulting in one of the most destructive battles in the Land of Fire, commonly called Red Earth for how much blood was spilt and how effectively Iwa tore up the ground with their assault. 

With fields destroyed and too little time and resources to return them to a usable state, Moeru’s citizens cleared out - moving further from the front and into villages that needed labor for farming. 

An empty village with no one to come knocking demanding its return. Clever, Tsubasa. Yet it begs the question of where the Tsubasa intend to go with their claim of Headship. Such titles are useless here.

At that thought I slouch lazily even further, falling back on the lazy Nara persona carefully cultivated by each and every one of my clansmen. The laziness was true, yes. But never on the field. Not as a jounin. Not with Noa at risk. 

Shino falls in line with me, and I give him a friendly smirk. I like the Bug-boy - glad he tagged along - far more than I did in the Academy. He’s got a sadistic streak in him, and was willing to put it to good use to get the village off my back about Noa. 

(If he wasn’t so head over heels for Inuzuka Hana, I would’ve almost be concerned.)

“These Tsubasa…” The Heir starts lowly, and I have to channel chakra into my ears just to hear him properly (Shino needs to remember that not everyone has Inuzuka level hearing …), “What do they look like? Shall we expect one such as Noa?”

The  _ ‘Someone as exotic as Noa _ ’ goes usaid.

I hold the frown off my face, but still feel it tugging at the sides of my lips. Truth was, I didn’t know what to expect any more than Shino did. Noa, as always, was enigmatic about what she remembered of her family. All she said to look out for was -

“Green hair-” I find myself saying just as I lock eyes with a figure who appeared at the end of the road, not 20 feet in front of where Kakashi has taken point.

_‘It’s a woman,’_ Is the first thing I note. The second being:  ‘Holy shit, _she’s taller than GAI_.’ 

The towering figure has hair the same shade as the new leaves of the Shodaime trees in Konoha, stick straight and hanging to her waist. Razor sharp bangs hang precisely along the line of her eyebrows, accenting the sharp angle of her yellow eyes and the milky paleness of her skin.

Pale to tanned. Yellow to deep blue. Straight to curly. Towering to petite.

There has never been two beings so alien to each other than the girl I love and this woman.

Noa falls just short of ten feet away from the green figure - Kakashi, Shino, and I all falling into a loose arc behind her. She stands tall, in the sort of quiet grace and defiance I have come to associate with her dealing with overly formal individuals she would much rather run through on her sai.

“Greetings, Tsubasa-san.” Noa begins, her voice level and clear. “We have come to Moeru to confirm rumors of the reestablishment of the Tsubasa Clan here. We wish to offer an opportunity to our fellow clansmen to join Konohagakure no Sato as citizens of the Leaf.  May we arrange to speak with your Head?”

The woman inclines her head elegantly, but seems entirely too pleased about the height difference between herself and the rest of us - Noa especially. “Greetings, Shinobi. I am Tsubasa Hirona, the Lady of the Tsubasa Clan. I will arrange for you to see my husband, the Clan Head, in time.”

(Great, verbal volleying. Using her own title but not even gracing Noa with her surname. Arranging ‘in time’ for her to meet the ‘Clan Head’ even though there’s no paperwork to go with it.)

Noa doesn’t react to the insult of her lack of proper - Clan Head she may be, she didn’t take on the name until she was 12 - but instead nods gracefully. “Many thanks for arranging such a meeting, Hirona-san.”

(There you go. Don’t dignify that with any dispute, just turn it on her so that she has to do the work. Nice going with the form of address as well.)

_ ‘Maybe I should be keeping Noa from spending so much time with Ino …’ _

Hirona’s lips twitch in irritation, but she pushes through, “Of course. May I have your names, Shinobi?”

Kakashi steps forward gracefully, assuming the role of herald - ensuring that although the Tsubasa had few enough numbers for her to meet them and introduce herself, Noa was at no such disadvantage.

“Of course, Hirona-san.” Kakashi allows, voice as sweet and dangerous as honey. “Might I introduce the Lady and Clan Head of the Tsubasa Clan, Tsubasa Noa-dono?”

Hirona’s eyes flash violently at the introduction, and I can feel Shino begin to gather his kikaichu -

“Well then,” Hirona bites out, all apparent presence of politeness gone. “With claims as dangerous as those,  _ Noa _ \- you are to see Hiroma-dono immediately.”

As Hirona whirls around to lead the way, something truly dangerous ripples through the air - and I feel dread build in the pit of my gut.

~~~

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

There was a secondary, even stronger tension between Noa and this Hirona woman after those last two phrases. Hirona tensed at Noa’s title but Noa -

Noa tensed at the name ‘Hiroma,’ the apparent Clan Head.

Did Noa know this Hiroma? Why would she be so anxious if she did?

As I follow a stiff, regal Noa I catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of Team 7’s code - developed through rude gestures and the English writing system. 

_ ‘No English. Proceed with caution,’ _ She ordered.

Shikamaru falls back to inform Shino as I flank Noa, stomach sinking at the implications of such an order.

_ ‘No English.’ _ ‘Demon.’ ‘With Claims as dangerous as those.’

What were we getting into?

~~~

Tsubasa Hiroma reminds me very strongly of Uchiha Fugaku, when he was still alive.

Pale skin, regal mannerism, easy grace, and the kind of complete and utter confidence that only comes with firmly believing you are the most dangerous person in the room.

He looks eerily like Hirona - same eyes, same face shape, same height. Same shade of hair, but his is pulled to a low binding and is elegantly cast over his right shoulder. With so few numbers and such highly valued blood purity, the two Tsubasa very well may hold a close blood relation.

(I hold back a shudder at the thought.)

And for all Hiroma moves, he may have been cast from stone - until he latches his sickly yellow eyes on Noa -

The effect is immediate.

His previous glimpse of grace dissolves in an instant and is replaced with derision and malice. This man holds no love for my Chibi-chan, my imouto, and I’m immediately on guard.

No one speaks. Noa settles a respectful - and  _ safe _ \- distance from the throne like chair Hiroma lounges in with the rest of the team flanking her. Hirona leaves our side to stand beside her husband, affecting the impression of an obedient child.

It’s disgusting.

“And the Demon returns,” Hiroma mockingly greets after the tension stretches on, voice dripping with something truly  _ foul _ \- “Claiming our blood, as it has no such right.”

My hand nearly twitches, itching to put a kunai in Hiroma’s mocking neck.

I recognized the cold fury, the building burn, that raged whenever the village would scorn Naruto growing in my gut. I saw Shikamaru’s stance change from the Nara lazy grace into something much angrier and much  _ deadlier _ . I process how the low buzz of Shino’s bugs rises in pitch but drops in tone dangerously.

But my eyes are on Noa. Noa looks just as carved from stone as this bastard was, but not in deadly anger or derision or disgust - in the elegant and deadly confidence of a bird of prey. 

“Now now,” Noa scolds, her voice light - yet sharper and more deadly than a poisoned kunai. “There’s no reason for that.”

Hiroma begins to leak killing intent, making his wife nervous and sweaty, but Noa is unbothered. She stands tall and firm as Hiroma rises intimidatingly to his full height - a full two feet above Chibi-chan - in a clear mark of aggression. 

“You would  _ dare _ speak to me in my own house with such a tone,  _ girl? _ ” Hiroma growls, each word affected as an insult. “You are as pitiful as you were when you left this place,  _ Hisoka _ .”

Noa freezes at the name - and the feeling in my gut changes. Sharply, the anger is overtaken by dread as my fears shift into something much more tangible and much more worrying-

Because I  _ know _ that as long as Noa had been in Konoha she had never been called that. Because I know that this is the exact thing I was ordered to look into and find the answer to by my  _ Hokage _ . Because I know that Noa hid all this for what must be a good reason - (I refuse to believe otherwise) - and by being here, we are risking everything she sought to hide.

But I have no choice.

The moment of horrible, frozen time passes just as quickly as it came, and without warning Noa reaches out with her chakra in a brilliant flare of power - chains shooting up through the wooden floors, binding Hiroma and Hirona in place in a show of aggression and might.

“Now  _ that _ -” Noa grits out - whether through exertion or anger - when the creak of the chains finally settles. “Was uncalled for.”

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

_ ‘Hisoka.’ _

‘ _ Secret. _ ’ The Tsubasa’s shameful little wretch. The girl that no one wanted to believe that the beautiful Clan Lady - forced into the marriage through politics and bribery  - would have sired.

I looked into it. Of course I did - six years is a long time, after all. The Tsubasa numbered under thirty when I was born. When Kumo attacked their previous residence, a village far too close to the border to have been a sane choice, it was estimated that  _ if any _ were to have survived the attack their numbers would’ve been less than ten.

My bitter bastard of a father just  _ had _ to be one of them, didn’t he?

‘Hisoka’ he said. A taunt.

The Tsubasa’s little secret.

Not so little anymore.

~~~~~~


	6. A COWARD'S VOICE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I am not here to fight."

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**TSUBASA NOA**

“I am not here to fight,” I state, forcing my voice to be level. “But I will  _ not _ abide by being insulted. This is  _ not _ the barren town I fled well before Kumo hit. I am  _ not _ the child you took one look at and dismissed out of hand,  _ Father _ . I am  _ not  _ some dirty little secret you kept for the sake of your pride - I am Tsubasa Noa, Clan Head of the nearly eradicated Tsubasa Clan and Elite Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato, trained by Lady Tsunade herself. I have slaved day and night turning the name I was told I didn’t even  _ deserve _ into something synonymous with hard work and change. You, you pathetic excuse for a man, do not get to call me  _ pitiful. _ ”

I huff with exertion. I’ve done it now. I could’ve denied his claims, acted confused, but not now. Now I know that every aspect of who I am will be targeted and examined by everyone I love.

And I deserve it. Because I lied.

But I’ll deal with this mess first. 

(And I’ll pretend that I don’t feel the betrayal coming off Shika in waves.)

~~~

**TSUBASA HIROMA**

I glare furiously at the defiant brat who dared attempt to take my title. My anger boils like a kanton jutsu in my gut, and the twitch of my chakra in my veins demanding to be used - to take the chakra from these insufferable chains -

Chains.

This is not the Uzumaki technique. It cannot be, the freak never had enough chakra to perform those Adamantine Chains …

Meaning the girl somehow got our bloodline -

“Impossible,” I hear myself saying lowly - before I’m suddenly  _ furious - _ “So you were a Tsubasa after all, little demon. Then your freakishness did come from that whore of a woman, your ‘mother.’”

The Nara that came growls, and I would be worried if not for the laziness of their kind - besides, the Aburame stopped him with a single arm. Clearly not in charge - most likely barely a chunin.

Sharingan Kakashi, though. He is looking at the scene with the kind of detached horror one would expect when you’re betrayed by one you care about. Danzo had been clear - the Hatake saw my apparent daughter as family. Pack, in a canine sense - the mutt.

I know the feeling of betrayal of family all too well. After all, I loved Minae until she birthed a demon speaking in tongues.

Now I only feel bitterness.

My observations are cut short when Hisoka laughs menacingly. “Oh, her?” She chuckles. “I’ve no love for a woman who I never met - much less one who married someone as pathetic as you. And your second wife? I remember having an aunt - hello, Hirona-oba! Like sleeping with your twin brother?”

Hirona blushes furiously - which is unacceptable, she should have better control over herself - and begins to stutter and loose face; I cut her off before she can disgrace our name any further.

“Silence,” Comes my order. “Purity must be maintained in our bloodline.”

“Purity means having kids with three toes and eight eyes?” Hisoka asks with fake innocence. “Well then, I better tell everyone! I was still under the impression that purity came from a diversified gene pool.”

Hirona finds her voice, viciously: “We tried that. How else did you expect that we gained the curse of your existence?”

The buzz in the room - no doubt coming from the disgusting Konoha insect - rises in pitch suddenly; I realize only now that the sound has steadily been getting louder. I spare the boy barely a glance, confident that my speed and skill could surpass his kikaichu, easily.

“Hirona-san,” The Aburame cuts through the air - interrupting my observations - mildly. “Do well to remember how Noa is not first a Tsubasa, but a Shinobi of Konoha.”

Hirona flinches, but any thoughts of the blatant insult my sister and wife presented my bastard whore of a daughter is cut off by my recognition of what name she has taken upon herself.

‘Noa:’ Love.

I can’t help but laugh.

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

_ ‘Hisoka.’ _

The name echos around my head, swirling and swarming with other clips - facts, words - of the worst day of my life.

(Forget the invasion; when I thought Noa was dying; when the retrieval mission went so wrong. This - this horrible, betrayed feeling in my gut … evidence that the woman I loved - who I wanted to love till my dying day - was a  _ lier?  _ A  _ traitor _ ?)

_ ‘Hisoka. Tsubasa Hisoka. Father. Demon. Whore. The barren town I left well before Kumo hit. Hisoka.’ _

_ ‘Hisoka. Hisoka. Hisoka.’ _

It echos.

When Hiroma insults Noa, it’s instinct to stand up for her - to shoot down her opposition, as I always have. As I always will.

Right?

But I don’t. Because  _ ‘always’ _ came before  _ ‘Hisoka.’ _

I tune right as the apparent father of the woman I love begins to laugh foully. 

“Noa?” He mocks, teeth - perfectly, white teeth - bared. “‘Love?’ What love does the world have for a monster?”

Noa looks truly hurt - if only for an instant, and in a way only someone who knew her well ( _ ‘or did I?’ _ ) would recognize - for the first time since we followed a furious Hirona straight into this disaster. “I have those who love me.” She shoots back, volleyed like a kunai.

But was that doubt? Why would she doubt that she was loved. Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade, they didn’t know. They still loved her -

‘They’ …

Did I?

I wanted to.

“Oh? And how could that be?” Hiroma digs deeper - finding a weak point and exploiting it mercilessly. (I can’t stop him - or maybe I can but I don’t know how), “How can you love a lie?-”

_ ‘How can you love a lie? _

“-That’s what this ‘Noa’ is, after all-”

_ ‘Why should I love a lie?’ _

“-Just another name for a squealing, mutant lump who spewed words and customs of the demons - polluting our household-”

_ ‘She lied. For so long she lied-’ _

“- Cursing our Clan. Killing our people-”

_ ‘Did she ever truly love me? Was I just a tool to her?’ _

“-You’re to blame! You are the reason that we have been reduced to this -”

_ ‘Team 7. Team Gai. Me, my parents, my family - were we just means to an end?-’ _

“-It is because of the curse you brought upon our name that we number only five, now! -”

‘ _ \- She said she loved me not four hours ago - _

“ - But no longer! Even if it kills us all we will not allow you to pollute our legacy!”

_ ‘But how can you love a lie?’ _

And the room explodes in chaos.

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

When fifteen ROOT agents crash through the doors aside three unfamiliar jade haired kunoichi, I don’t even hesitate.

Immediately I’m targeted, and I know that this truly was the trap Sasuke and Ruto feared it would be. 

So I do what I’ve always - as long and short as that is - done. I’ve shifted into a familiar stance and called my chakra forth.

It’s instinct, at this point. And I think that that is the worst part of the killing. I’ve killed so many, fought so many, that -

It just doesn’t matter anymore. 

And it doesn’t. 

But it should.

It should matter that I put kunai made of my own life energy through the chests of six agents who never even had the right to own a name. 

It should matter that before Hirona can follow her twin in the path of escaping my chains I’ve crushed her ribs with enough force that her lungs popped.

It should matter that with a familiar pull of my chakra I’ve got a sai in each hand and I’m cooly and efficiently cutting through the lines of shinobi - the last of my family included.

(But of all the things that should bother me - that my fellow Konoha nin don’t come to my aid actually  _ does _ .)

(‘ _ But maybe bother isn’t the word. Hurt. Hurt is the word.’) _

And then I stand alone in front of the man I never called father - but without the memories of a different life I probably would’ve.

_ (‘I wouldn’t have felt this betrayed, if I - for once - was normal. Was just  _ Noa,  _ not a phantom long dead.’) _

He stands, graceful in the face of the eradication of what was left of his clan.

It’s a well created farce, but I can see the fury through his mask. I feel it myself.

_ ‘I suppose family not stopping at blood isn’t quite true,’ _ I muse as I flick the blood off my sai. ‘ _ Family doesn’t even  _ start _ there. _ ’

~~~

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

In an instant Noa has killed a squadron of unidentified nin and the rest of her clan save her ass of a father.

Is this what my teaching does? Is? A tool to end those who you should’ve held close to your heart?

_ ‘No,’ _ A voice says in the back of my head.  _ ‘Hiroma brought this upon himself - and his clan - for attacking her _ .’

But Noa … Hisoka … is a healer. She never liked killing.

I still remember the hunch of her shoulders - marred by scars that she should’ve never suffered through - as she washed the blood from her tunic in the waters of Wave. 

Has she changed so much?

_ ‘Or did I ever really know her?’ _

Hiroma has retreated into his previous, stone-cold persona, in the face of the fury rapidly thickening the air in the room; killing intent weighing the air down like the sky was crushing the earth.

The silence is deafening.

“You hold more power than expected, Daughter.”

At first an audible grit of teeth is his only response - but only for an instant.

“This was the work of Danzo - of ROOT,” She hisses - a statement, not a question. “He set you up to kill me. Why?”

_ ‘Danzo?’ _

Hiroma grins menacingly, teeth bared. “Don’t you know?” He mocks, “He  _ wants you _ -”

“And you’d give me to him?” She cuts him off, furious. “Is there nothing you wouldn't do to hurt me? Torment me?”

Her grief seems to set something off in Hiroma, and his smile becomes all the more genuine while also all the more menacing. “Oh, didn’t you know?  _ Demons don’t deserve to live, much less be happy _ .”

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

With the echo of ‘ _ demons’ _ through my head, I run my sai through the heart of my father.

I should’ve felt something. Satisfaction, anger. Resentment, relief.

I just felt numb.

My sai dissolves, sapphire chakra dissipating - a fog lowering to the earth, returning to nature.

Returning.

That wasn’t an option anymore, was it?

Not after this. Never after this.

The thud of Hiroma hitting the ground jerks me out of my downward spiral.

(It wasn’t supposed to be this way -)

~~~

“You won’t supposed to find out like this.”

Was that really my voice? The sound of broken, rough, anguish? Was that who I was now?

“I was going to say … something. Someday. When the Akatsuki was destroyed and Orochimaru died - was killed. I was going to but -”

My excuses are weak - 

‘ _ Pitiful.’ _

“You were born this way?” Shino clarifies, and I wish it didn’t sound so betrayed, accusatory.  
I close my eyes, determinately keeping my back to my once-friends. (If I can’t see their faces, I can almost pretend they aren’t shattered.) “What would I have said?”

My question reverberates through the deadened room.

“What would you have believed?” I continue as I find my voice, “That I was born knowing a language that didn’t exist? Or that my parents looked as beautiful and normal as any true Tsubasa was - should’ve been?”

God I sound so bitter.

I look down at my hands. They’ve held chakra and blades and family and food and  _ Shika _ -

“What would you have had me say?” I ask, desperate but fighting to hide it. “I was a three year old, far too smart for her age, who had fled her home where the only person who treated her as  _ human _ was the  _ Nanny _ . I was too smart, had too much control over my chakra, and knew a language that seemingly sprung from nowhere - I was the ideal spy, though I wasn’t. I  _ wasn’t -” _

(I choke.)

“I stayed low - I had to. Stuck to the flower district until … Ruto. Because Ruto was just like me, the  _ demon _ of Konoha just as I was the  _ demon _ of the Tsubasa. Their dirty little  _ secret -” _

(I pretend I don’t hear Kakashi flinch.)

“But it would’ve still been  _ fine _ .” I sob out, feeling as if a dam had broken, “I could’ve just stayed low, opened a shop - worked as a waitress. I wanted to - honestly did. I don’t  _ like _ to  _ fight _ … But then we met Sasuke and Itachi and the  _ massacre _ \- and I realized that sitting back and doing nothing when I could’ve would’ve  _ killed me _ . I was never supposed to get too close. I was only going to protect them until they passed me and could protect themselves.”

My voice cracks, and I realize I’m crying. When was the last time I cried?

“But then I was too deep and I could never go back - didn’t want to.”

Weak. Pitiful.  _ Demon _ .

(They don’t deserve me - but I deserve this.)

I scrub at my face, an idle thought passing through my mind - glad that I hadn’t bothered to put on mascara for a good impression.

I’m disgusted with myself.

I have to make a choice. I have to - need to. I have no choice but to choose.

Stag cannot love me - and why should he? Ruto, Sasuke -   
Orochimaru.

Nagato.

Akatsuki.

_ Obito - _

I can’t go back. With Madara and Obito and Nagato and Orochimaru out there the people in Konoha ( _ Gai, Kakashi, Sasuke, Ruto, Tsunade,  _ Shikamaru _ -) _ are under threat -

I turn around, slowly - as unthreatening as possible - and force my eyes to lock on to my companions. Shino is more stoic than ever; his insects blanketed out just feet from me and coating each of the dead bodies. Kakashi is horror-struck; a kunai gripped tightly in each hand. And Shika -

I can’t look at him. I  _ can’t - _

But if this is the last time I get to say it, I want it to mean something.

So I look up. I look the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with straight in the eyes and I say it.

“I love you. I have always loved you.”

And with a surge of chakra and flared feathers -

I fly away and never look back.

~~~~~~

 


	7. FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE LEFT BEHIND

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She’s going to be fine,” I state - half assuring myself, half willing it to be true. “She’s going to be fine.”

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

 

~~~~~~ 

**SENJU TSUNADE**

“Hokage-sama!”

I look up from my unreasonable pile of paperwork just in time to see a chunin I couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of bolt into my office: a Sunagakure hawk on his shoulder and half-opened scroll in his hand.

“Hokage-sama!” He repeats, panting. “It’s the Kazekage! He’s been kidnapped!”

Something in my stomach plumits with all the implications of such an act.

“Shizune!” I holler, heart racing. “Get me Tenten, Neji, Lee, Naruto, and Sasuke!”

~~~

**UZUMAKI NARUTO**

Sasuke and I get our summons at the exact same time.

“I have a bad feeling …” I hear Sasuke mutter.

I glance over, “Not about Gaara.”

Sasuke just shakes his head, eyes on something far in the horizon. “No.”

I nod once, solidly, and push the tension mounting in my gut to the side. “She’s going to be fine,” I state - half assuring myself, half willing it to be true. “She’s going to be fine.”

~~~

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

Noa isn’t even fully out the gaping hole in the wall before I’m launching myself after her -

Only to be swarmed en-mass by the Aburame Heir’s kikaichu.

“Shino,  _ move _ -” I command, eyes locked on Noa’s retreating form. “I have to -”

“No, you don’t. Why?” Shino levels out, hidden eyes burning into my back. “Because you are not thinking straight. Because a clan is dead save a single woman. Because this was a trap.”

I rip my eyes from the point in the distance where my only sister has vanished, “She’s a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato.”

“No,” Shikamaru contradicts - speaking for the first time in a dull, vacant voice. 

I follow his finger to the gleam of a hitai-ate resting beside the bodies of Tsubasa Hiroma and Hirona.

“No,” Shikamaru repeats as my stomach drops. “She’s not.”

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

I’ve been flying for about twenty minutes before I realize my hitai-ate is missing.

A hole had been carved in my heart in its absence. Well, what was left of my heart - after it shattered.

But I feel naked in a way I really shouldn’t, but I do regardless. Before I even realize what I’m doing I’ve twitched my chakra; a gleaming, bright hitai-ate forms around my waist with a single kanji on it.

_ ‘Shinobi.’ _

The war’s coming, after all.

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

The trek back is a blur. We check in with the gate guardians in a  _ blur _ \- at least for me. Shino … Shino does the talking. I just hand over my ID’s.

We beeline for the Hokage’s office. Someone … must’ve gone ahead. Told Godaime-sama that … Noa wasn’t with us.

Noa. Hisoka. Noa. Hisoka.

We push open the door. Tsunade stands to great us.

_ “What the hell happened?” _ She demands.

I don’t know. I don’t know.  _ I don’t KNOW. _

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

Just as the sun begins to touch the earth, I finally come to a stop.

(Running on fumes, adrenaline, determination could only get one so far, after all.)

I had nothing left to keep me moving through this numbness. Setting up camp is mechanical; nothing too fancy - (I’m from Konoha, I  _ live  _ in trees) - but after a short hunt and a quick katon jutsu I’ve cooked myself a rabbit, using sharp herbs to disguise the scent of cooked meat. All perfect Konoha regulation.

(Pretending that the sharp pain at that thought doesn’t exist is more difficult than it should be for a shinobi of my caliber.)

What now?

What now.

Noa you can’t do this. You can’t look at this effectively - not just by thinking. You’ll get stuck. It’s just a game - like a video game back  _ Before _ or a-

A game of Shogi. With my Shika.

 

 

I have lost most of my effectivity but gained maneuverability. No missions means no papers to get where I need to go, but also means that I am not bound my mission parameters.

I’m a lone piece on the shogi board - a gold general. I am powerful and diverse, but I’m not important enough to be protected. It doesn’t matter if I die, only that I can protect the King. My friends. Konoha.

But this isn’t shogi. No, this is chess. I’m a rogue queen - powerful, mobile. Determined. This cannot be shogi, because I refuse to be used against those I love. Against my King.

If you kill a Queen, she never comes back. For either side.

(Maybe my death will stick this time.)

Is this type of sacrifice healthy? No,  _ but it is effective _ . Whether or not I am considered a part of this world doesn’t matter anymore - I’ve changed too much. Once upon a time there was  _ for sure _ a happy ending. My actions may have changed that. I can’t afford to distance myself out of some misplaced bid of self-preservation.

I don’t have to make it, anymore. I don’t have to have a future. I don’t  _ have _ a future, not one that will matter. So I don’t have to save my life. Just have to guarantee everyone else’s.

If the world ends, it will all be my fault. I can’t die knowing that.

So I’ll fight. I’ll  _ fix _ . 

 

But where do I start?

 

What was the next deadly ‘thing’ in the timeline? What event? What can I predict? 

Threats: Orochimaru, Kabuto, Danzo, Akatsuki, Pein, Obito, Madara, and Zetsu.

Okay, Orochimaru. Oto. He’s got Kabuto with him, most likely. They pull a shit ton of people back from the dead during War Number IV, so I have to deal with them. I need to eliminate the chance of me being used against anyone. Of Minato. Of Kushina. Of Sakumo. Of - anyone I couldn’t save.

Danzo. Lost a lot of advantage with him, but he’s still after me - especially now that I am the only source of my bloodline left. Too valuable to pass up. I’ll keep my guard up, but I have to trust my King. Have to trust that Kakashi will care enough to go after ROOT, despite how much I’ve let him down.

Akatsuki and Pein. Pein needs to be reasoned with, in Ame. Konan may be reasoned with … I can’t let Jiraiya die. Or Asuma. For the sake of my boys, I can’t -

Obito needs to get the seal off his heart. Madara is a puppet. Zetsu - 

I don’t know enough. I need more information.

I don’t  _ remember - _

 

_ ‘Enough, _ ’ I cut myself off. ‘ _ You’ll be dead well before then. _ ’

 

Prioritize. Danzo has stretched himself too far, especially considering that he revealed ROOT to Kakashi and -

Sasuke and Ruto will ask questions. Kakashi will have to answer them. Danzo needs me alive, but doesn’t know where I am or will be. Sasuke killed him last time …

I’m not strong enough to take on Pein. Nagato has too much of an advantage on me. With his Paths and with Konan and the Akatsuki to back him up …

Oto it is.

~~~

**SENJU TSUNADE**

The creak of my desk is the only thing that tells me just how tight I’ve been gripping it.

My shinobi haven’t said a word. Shizune hasn’t said a word.

My office is quiet.

Abruptly I turn away, away from where Hatake Kakashi has fallen apart and where Nara Shikamaru is just an eerie mirror of me after Orochimaru and where Aburame Shino is the only one in this room with anything even resembling composure.

I look out the window. To the monument.

What was that she said? Noa -  _ Hisoka _ \- once griped about how absurd the monument was. Going on about how it was an empty gesture.

 

_ ‘ _ _ Teach _ _ , didn’t you know? Something like this’  _ \- ‘She had gestured to the monument  _ \- 'is only setting our leaders up for failure. After all …’ _

She had a maniac grin on her face.

_ ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall.’ _

She wasn't big. Not in the cosmic sense, no she wasn’t big. But how she laughed at her hangovers and - and - griped about her training and insisted she was fine when she had a temperature through the tower roof -

That was huge.

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

Luck would have it that I had flown so far west that I’d ended up in the Land of Earth.

_ (How I managed to avoid the patrols …? _ )

I count myself lucky, however. Not being in Fire makes it so that the chance of correlation between me and Konoha is less likely. I’m not a missing-nin in the traditional sense …  _ yet _ . Just - literally a shinobi that my home village has no idea how to find. With my new hitai-ate and my foreign features, I can at least hope that my identity will remain at least in question for a decent amount of time.

But ties must be cut. For my sake and theirs - so I start talking to myself, lowly. Konoha’s accent isn’t harsh, but it is identifiable, especially when Iwa is so detached from Konoha; both in terms of geography and culture. But English is different, leaves a slur to my words when I talk too long. So soon enough, when I switch back to Common after a couple of high flying hours I’ve regained the lilt to my words that made me stick out so much as a kid.

I fly for another couple hours after that, - (my training demanding somewhere in the back of my mind that 34.5 hours without backup in Rock territory was  _ no bueno _ ) - backtracking while heading north, following the border of Grass. I stop down only long enough for a refill of water and meat before I make a choice. This would all be for naught if  _ anyone _ \- Tsunade, Danzo, Team 7,  _ anyone _ \- could track me. I need to get  _ out _ -

My map is meagre - and became useless three pit stops ago  - so I abandon it; gazing out at the sea. Land of Iron should be northeast of here. 

Land of Iron. The Land of Samurai. Bordering the Land of Sound to the south. 

I ready myself for a long flight.

~~~

**TENZO**

“What do you mean it’s Akatsuki?” Crow -  _ Sasuke _ ,  _ Sasuke _ \- demands of Uzumaki-san. 

“What else is there to say, Teme?” Uzumaki growls back, eyes closed and stained orange with natural chakra. “I can’t feel Gaara - not really - but it’s not because he’s not here. He’s being  _ drained _ , and the only people powerful enough to go after Bijuu - after  _ Gaara _ \- are the Akatsuki. And after my seal stops flushing out Kankuro’s system he’ll be able to positively identify them. Hard to miss the shiny-shiny coats.”

I look over to Hyuuga-san -  _ Neji _ \- and see a similar look of confused apprehension on his face as I felt on mine.

Senpai hadn’t been specific about why Sasuke was going dark, but this?

Who the hell was hunting jinchuriki?

~~~

**TSUBASA NOA**

I overshot. Holy shit I overshot - this is bad.

I should’ve known better. Even on short flights distance is hard to gauge - this was no excuse -

I landed in the Land of Lightning.

It didn’t take me long to realize that, what with the almost immediately noticeable shinobi presence. I had barely landed before my chakra was picked up by the patrols. Bolting, I took to the air again, disguising my chakra signature before I could be spotted - taking high to the air. Riding a current, I assess my options.

Landing in Kumo wasn’t exactly a bad thing. I would have the element of surprise by entering the Land of Sound through Lightning territory that I wouldn’t have with the Land of Iron. Any advantage was a good advantage, but -

It was now even more dangerous if I were to get caught in foreign territory, especially if I was tied back to Konoha.. Foreign features would have spared me slightly in Rock, but only because I was there so briefly. By leaving the territory so quickly, barely being spotted as it was, there was no reason to look into me seriously. But if I wanted to preserve my strength for the trek into Oto, through, prolonged use of my Wings was a handicap I couldn’t afford.

I needed to disguise myself.

~~~

With a quick henge into a dark skinned Ino with pupils, I check into a rural inn - one with too little customers to ask questions  or stay suspicious for long. The place is so dingy I count myself lucky to even have a sink and mirror.

I drop the henge. Drink in Tsubasa Noa for the last time.

Then, steeling myself, I channel chakra into my hands and get started. 

Being a medic meant that I learned quite a few totally obscure thing - facts and tidbits I never thought would come in any practical use. That’s how I know that the keratin in our hair defines the shape of it, how it falls and how it grows. It’s common for perms to affect the keratin using a variety of chemicals that I don’t even bother with; I simply reach up and run my chakra coated hand down each chunk of my hair.

It feels like I’m carving off skin.

I shared most, if not all, of my characteristics from my past life. The differences were small, really, most likely based more off what chakra did to my body that whatever kind of genetics I really had - but my hair, oh my  _ hair _ . It was exactly like it was in my past life. It was tough and curly and refused to listen to me and I hated it - and I had never thought of having it in any other way. No matter how much I complained and griped and struggled, it was part of me - familiar, something to fall back on when this new world became too much.

And now I won’t even have that.

In some way this was worse than leaving my hitai-ate behind. Worse than killing my so-called father. Worse than the thought of me dying.

All I had for so long was who I was - how my soul and my mind and my body were  _ mine _ and  _ untouched _ in the chaos I was thrust into ... but now with each run of my jutsu I feel less and less like  _ me _ . 

I don’t care to worry about how long this is taking - it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that eventually straight hair hanging well past my waist swings in long, majestica tresses.

I hate it.

But I can’t stop there. I change tracks - hands glowing every so little stronger in a different jutsu - and start again. Chunk by chunk. Segment by segment. Section by section.

Except this time around it’s shocking silver that bleeds from beneath my hands, not silk.

_ (‘I broke Kakashi’s heart. The least I can do is live up to being his sister.’) _

The pit - the tension - in my gut grows ever so much stronger; the slightest tang of excessive chakra use only enhancing the feeling of  _ wrong _ . But I carry on, push through, until my hair shines with a ethereal glow only the moon could ever hope to compare to and falls gracefully in a wave of molten silver.

_ I hate it. _

I catch a wisp of hairs - wind it around my fingers - and stare with a kind of sick fascination; akin to examining a particularly disgusting bug. The dark tan of my skin, even darker after the relentless beating of the sun on my flight across the water, stands out even further with my new hair. It’s bizarre.

But I know that I can’t stop here, either. 

I swallow. Clear my throat uselessly. Push back my apprehension.

I close my eyes, as if my thin lids can save me from the reality of what I must do.

_ ‘For Ruto. For Sasuke. For Kakashi. For Gai. _ ’

A pang in my heart.

_ ‘For Shikamaru.’ _

I raise my hands to my face.

~~~~~~


	8. OF TATTERS AND TABOOS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chill, Ni - else you’re gonna see that hunting this story spinner’ll get harder than it has to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heyo! Sorry for not updating for literally a month - the school year was wrapping up and chaos decided to stay a while. Plus this chapter was VERY difficult to get out.
> 
> Thank you for you patience and your amazing comments! I've been writing this story for so long, and I thank you all for sticking by me on it.
> 
> Lots of Love,   
> Milo Of The Key

Underlined - English

‘ _ Italicised’ - Thoughts _

**In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast**

_ *Bracketing Asterisk Around Italicised Text* _ \- Thoughts in verse. Specifically, raps.

 

~~~~~~ 

**NII YUGITO**

“Yo yo, Yugito-chan. This storyteller we’re chasing ‘s ‘parently on the lam,” Killer Bee fires off rapidly, teeth bared at the challenge. She glanced over at her fellow jinchuuriki; in his hands was the depressingly thin file that A-sama had shoved at them before booting them both out of the Mission Room. “Little girl’s never fought, never shown the signs of a kunoichi - all the same saying she’s untrained may just be reaching~!”

I grimace, frustrated with the whole situation, and snatch the file from his unresisting hands. “Bee, take this seriously. This is a  _ punishment _ .”

“Yugito, my lady, don’t you understand? We’re only here because I broke some fella’s hand-” He retaliates almost indignantly, before I cut him off.

“You broke the  _ Daimyo's cousin’s _ hand, Bee. We’re here because  _ you _ decided to challenge a civilian to an arm wrestling match with your  _ tentacles _ .”

“Chill, Ni - else you’re gonna see that hunting this story spinner’ll get harder than it has to be.”

I furiously stomp down on the Two-Tails’ chakra boiling in my chest. Now is not the time to crush his face in,  _ unfortunately,  _ and I can’t afford to loose control in the middle of the Lightning countryside. “Anyway,” I grit out, changing the subject - for both of our sakes. “We need to find this amazing ‘Okurimono’ soon, or else the Daimyo will be the least of our worry;  _ A _ -sama will skin the both of us alive.”

Bee lets out a full bodied chuckle, shoulders shaking with each round of echoing rumbles, “Careful, Yugito. You go alluding too closely to skinning and the cat in you might just go swimming~!”

_ “That doesn’t even make  _ sense! _ ” _

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

“Are you stupid? No - sorry. Let me rephrase. Are you fucking  _ retarded _ , you useless sack of rotting flesh-?!”

I flinch at Ino’s tone, knowing I deserved it. But I refuse to respond.

“Oh no, you don’t ignore me, Nara Shikamaru. You think you can throw yourself into training and ‘clan responsibilities’ and back to back missions without someone planning to step in? Jounin or not I will hand your ass to you if you don’t haul yourself out of that damn futon in  _ three seconds- _ ”

I ignore her.

(Big mistake.)

_ (‘-Though to date, not my worst one-’) _

“Oh for Kami’s sake -”

I barely have time to brace myself before I’m being flung through the rice door of the Nara guest house I was hiding from the world in.  _ (‘-Not  _ our  _ guest house, though. I could never go back there-’)  _ Flipping myself onto my back, I deign it prudent to remain on the floor - the heels of my palms crushing into my eyes, trying to block my teammate out. 

I wanted to drown in my misery.

“Leave, Ino.” I hiss, exhausted, mentally and physically - after so many days without being able to sleep.

“No.”

I jolt, surprised. That wasn’t the Ino I expected. She sounded … harsher.

“Shikamaru, you  _ are _ going to listen what I have to say. And then you are going to put some food into your skinny-ass body, and then you  _ will _ talk to Team 7.”

I couldn’t muster the energy to argue. I just layed on the ground.

Ino grits her teeth audibly; so, when she longest forward to grapple with me, I can hear her coming. To a degree, I’m ready for her to toss me around again - but as I am busy bracing for a relatively painless landing, I am easily caught off guard by Ino’s hands on my temples. In an instant chakra is being shoved into my mind faster than-

And I black out.

~~~

**NII YUGITO**

Even if we hadn’t tracked the storyteller here, the buzz and attention such a rural town in Lighting Country was getting would’ve been enough indication. 

Okurimono was here, after all.

And it wasn’t really a small town - more like a hamlet: too small to even have a name. It was more of a trading outpost, with no real presence outside a couple of homes; scattered shepherds and farmers; and an all-in-one bar, inn, and community kitchen. 

Bee, for once, is silent - and for that I am grateful; according the the reports, the girl spooks easily. If this goes well, then we’d be the first shinobi to even  _ talk _ to the girl in person without scaring her off.

As the sun begins to go down, the town seems to shift: the people drifting into the hamlet’s center. 

Let’s see what kind of wordsmith would be talented enough to attract the attention of a Daimyo.

~~~

**OKURIMONO**

When I feel a set of chakra signatures large enough to rival even the Sandaime Hokage, I tense. Then I seriously contemplate running.

But - my room fees for this inn are being paid for by this performance. I can’t in good conscience leave now - I was raised better than that, despite my … shaky childhood. I’ve got morals … in a way.

I take a deep breath, and adjust my bandages. The show must go on.

I exit the inn.

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

With a punch of vertigo and a gasp, I find myself somewhere completely alien (yet still strangely familiar), panting with exertion and surprise and pain and discomfort -

“What-” I cough, gathering my breath. “The  _ hell _ was that, Ino?” I gather myself, shooting a brief glare at my  _ troublesome _ teammate before examining my surroundings. 

We  _ somehow _ went from a random guest house to a clearing. No, not  _ a  _ clearing …  _ The _ Clearing. Our Clearing. But different. Everything is off - the trees are too tall, the sun too bronzed. The trees are all hollowed out, too - filled with were doors, cabinets, arches.

“What the hell...?” I murmur, before it hits me.

“Your mindscape, yes.” Ino confirms from behind me. I turn to face her - and I can’t help taking a step when I really  _ see _ her. 

This isn’t the Ino I know - not the Ino who stormed my house, determined to cheer me up. This Ino was -

_ ‘Wrong- _ ’ Echos almost audibly through the clearing, rattling around my brain.

The imposter’s hair was flaxen, brittle; an ugly bleached white color - as if her vitality had been sucked out of her. With sullen cheeks and splintered, broken, features, she looked as if she were a ghost. Some kind of … sick imitation. Her clothes were the same as Ino’s .. almost. The color was just _ barely _ off; her clothes ill fitting in the smallest, most awkward ways. She was close, but not quite-

I look up at her face and my heart stops.

Never, her entire life, has Ino ever had pupils.

_ “Who are you?” _ I demand, instantly on guard.

~~~

**KILLER BEE**

“Heyo, what do you know?” I mutter under my breath, perched on the roof of one of the tiny buildings in this sliver of a hamlet. “Okurimono’s finally gonna start her show.”

Okurimono, according to the reports Big Bro A gave Nii and me, was just a random woman - (possibly Lightning Country in origin, though unconfirmed) - that began to make a name for herself a month or so ago in the smaller towns; being well known to tell stories with some kind of magical power. 

There was no confirmed indication of her being trained in the Shinobi arts; there  _ were  _ various cases of artisans who used chakra to augment their work - though it was more common for Kabuki theatre in the Land of Wind. Chakra strings and all.

( _ *Yo yo, but hey, what can you do? The Daimyo wants to see the performance - we shinobi gotta to pull through!* _ )

This ‘Okurimono’ looked not too distant from the typical Lightning Country citizens, though her hair was more silver than white and her skin a tad paler. Perhaps her parents had vastly different complexions. She was dressed in a ragged, poor woman’s kimono; she looked like a beggar - as if she were straight out of a folk tale herself...

( _ *The problem though, is gotta be, that with bandages like that there ain’t much to see...* _ )

Cuz with bandages wrapped around her eyes, covering her face from the bridge of her nose up, there wasn’t much he could tell about how the girl looked. And not knowing something like that?

( _ ‘Ain’t no two ways of saying it - hiding that kind of shit? - Less outrageousness than straight dangerousness-’) _

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

“Who am I? Oh, because of how I look?” Not-Ino asks dryly, examining a ash-like arm. “What, are you surprised? This  _ is _ how you see me, these days.”

I gulp, tearing my eyes away from my desecrated teammate, “What do you mean?”

Not-But-Possibly-Ino sighs heavily. “Shikamaru,” She says lowly, voice akin to how one would approach a skittish fawn. “Look down at yourself.”

I swallow roughly, and comply.

“Oh.”

I’m dressed … familiarly, yet still alien. Not like the clearing, but … these clothes are from  _ that  _ day. The day we were just  _ us - _ even if we weren’t, not really.

Because that day two years ago, we were on an infiltration mission … yet we were more  _ us _ than I could’ve remembered.  _ She _ and I both were in the Land of Hot Water, disguised as two civilians on a date during a festival. We weren’t … ourselves.  _ She _ had to wear a henge for days at a time, making her curly hair long and blond like the Godaime and her eyes just as golden. But me -

_ She _ had insisted that she dress me herself - claiming that I had no taste, that I had no idea what I was doing. That I’d end up looking like a shinobi. I brushed her off as troublesome, but still let her shove me into the pressed slacks, the boots. I let her bully me into a maroon button-down shirt; sleeves rolled up my forearms. She demanded I’d wear my hair down, free. Swinging loose.

I was dressed how  _ She _ dressed me that day - the day she said I was handsome, and that she was so lucky to have me. The day she said everything she wanted to under the face of another; somehow still making it all seem so genuine -

I’ve only ever dressed like this once ...

The only difference … the hole punched through my chest.

I cover the gaping, numb wound with a shaking hand, foolishly. As if the hunk of flesh that was my useless, pitiful hands would cover up and somehow fix the weeping, ragged hole that was where I once had a heart. 

Before it was ripped out of me.

Tears lay, unshead, in my eyes.

I wish they would fall. Oh, Kami, I wish they would fall.

~~~

**NII YUGITO**

As the crowd gathers, Okurimono begins to tap out a strong rhythm on a small metal drum she carried with her, a hapi. The music was eerie, sounding out into the air with an echo-

And she began her story.

Suddenly, the pile of wood in front of her catches alight; a campfire no bigger than a cookfire lighting without warning. The audience jumps, but the children in the front aren’t frightened, only startled into laughter. The smoke and steam from the wet wood curls into tendrils, seeming to sway with the beat of the music. It takes a second, before I realize that, yes, the smoke was moving. She was  _ moving _ it. 

“There is a word that not many use anymore…” The mysterious storyteller begins, her voice strangely accented; rough with disuse yet still smooth with youth. She must’ve been 20, 21 at most. She plays on. “The word is ‘taboo,’ and people forget what it once meant.”

“Taboo isn’t just a word that referred to an action that was frowned upon, oh no. Taboo was something forbidden by the heavens themselves.”

With that she strikes the drum, the sound quickly followed by a lightning strike within the mist - as if the smoke was a thundercloud that belonged far above our heads, yet was somehow brought down to earth.

“The heavens whisper, you know,” The girl continued. “They speak to all. You can hear them, when you are at your worst. Or at your best. Or even as you close your eyes to breathe in the fresh air after a rainstorm.”

“And if you stop, if you pause in the hustle and bustle of life for just a moment - just a  _ second _ -” The silver-haired woman pauses, hands pressed tightly to the drum beneath her fingers - deadening the sound into a tense, anticipatory silence. “- you can hear your taboo being whispered from your heart.”

The children - the adults, even - are riveted.

Okurimono begins her drumming again.

“Some taboos don’t make sense. Some make too much sense - but hear me all: no matter how absurd one’s taboo may be, it is written in their hearts.” The woman levels her bandaged eyes as the gathered villagers, listening raptly. “You’d be best to remember that.”

And, just for a second, a civilian girl a decade younger than myself seems to look directly at me -

But she’s back to her story.

“Of course, far more dangerous than tempting another to stray from their path … is straying yourself,” Okurimono comments, almost arily. The mist shifting, tendriling, until it grows to form the image of two men, walking along a path. Yugito’s breath catches in her throat at the skill, the beauty, of such a performance.

“There were once two men,” Okurimono’s voice sounds out, body hidden by her mist - tinted oh so slightly with chakra. “Strangers, traveling along the same path - bonding over their travels. One, like many, did not know what his taboo was. His people had forgotten how to listen to their hearts, to the heavens.”

Of the two grey figures, one stretches languidly, catlike. Color began to bleed before their eyes, coloring the first man’s garments a startling purple. It was … curious. And impressive.

“The second man,” The wordsmith continued. “Listened to his heart. Listened to the heavens. And the heavens told him -”

Dramatic pause, a silent beat in the music. 

“That he was never to eat the meat of a deer.”

Yugito felt herself jerk in surprise despite herself, startled. As the music resumed, more upbeat - faster, the audience laughed -

And without even needing to enhance her hearing, Yugito could tell that Bee was laughing too.

“Absurd though it was, the second man-” Whose garments were now a light, almost white, green “-knew to follow his heart, to respect his taboo. And so, he never ate the meat of a deer.”

The first man, the one in purple, pulled a bow as the music changed to something more anticipatory. Like a hunter stalking their prey.

“The first man went hunting one day on their travels, however... -” An arrow golden like the sun pierced the hide of a misty doe, still young enough to have it’s white spots. The children gasped at the display, whispering amongst themselves at the development. “ -And managed to win them a magnificent deer. The first man could hardly wait to begin preparing his catch; proud to have gotten such a delicious meal.”

“Of course, the second man knew that he should not touch a morsel of the deer, afraid to even help prepare it with his friend. He told his friend as such.”

A campfire was built within the mist, and the man in purple began to skin and joint the deer; his friend hovering in the background. The first man looked up at the second in clear confusion, then derision.

“The hunter was confused. He had never bothered in believing in the heavens, in their taboos. He saw them as excuses, reasons people made up to get out of things they had no stomach for. He told his friend as such.”

“Oh, but the second man was adamant: ‘No, my friend,’ he said, voice strong. ‘I will not go against my heart,’” Okurimono laughed ominously, her music hiccupping for a moment at the unexpected reaction. “But the first man would hear none of it, yet he laid off, for the moment. Instead he focused on preparing his meal. -” The figure resumed his cooking, the misty campfire giving off a warm glow. “- He cut the meat carefully, sure to trim the fat  _ just so _ . He took herbs from his bag - garlic and cloves and salt - and, after grinding them carefully, rubbed the seasoning into the meat.”

The man in the mist did as such, and soon the meat was cooking, popping, with little  _ tings _ of the drum in time with the crackle of the fire. Yugito couldn’t believe she was actually getting hungry from words alone - it was impressive, of a storyteller.

“The second man tried to stay strong against the urge to eat the meat, but the smell - the heavenly, beautiful aroma - of the meat made staying strong difficult. He grit his teeth against the urge to take a huge bite of the meat, desperate not to cave to his desires. -” (The second man was uncomfortable, turning away from the fire - but his arm was caught by the first man. I knew where this was going.) “- His friend saw his suffering, his struggle, and grinned at it. He cajoled his friend with words, enticing him. ‘What harm could a single bite do?’ He asked. ‘It is only a piece of meat. It will be eaten anyway.’ He reasoned.’

“But still the second man held true - that is, until the first man began to eat himself.” - the first man cut a juicy piece of venison - “And then, the second man began to cave. Yet still, he did not reach for the meat, though his hand twitched and his mouth salivated. He would not serve himself the meat.”

The drumming stopped.

“Though, he objected not when his friend served him, instead.”

~~~

**NARA SHIKAMARU**

Absently, I realize that Ino was talking. But I’m distracted by the hole in my chest.

“- I know what happened, Shikamaru. I got it from Naruto who got it from Sasuke who dragged it out of Kakashi. I get it - but  _ seriously _ ?”

I look up at her - locking onto her pupil-d eyes. 

“Shikamaru -” Ino breaks herself off, finding her words. “Maybe her past was a lie, okay? Noa, or Hisoka, or Tsubasa, or whoever she really is - It. Doesn’t. Matter. Because you two playing shogi tournaments till Yoshino-ba-san dragged you in for dinner? Her teaching you English in exchange for  _ vocab _ ? The  _ six years _ you two had together - being together? That was real. Can you doubt all of that just because she changed her name to get out of an abusive household? Can you really give up on her because she had to lie to survive? Will you really hold it against her that she  _ fought back _ against the family that was planning on  _ murdering _ her?”

The tears are shedding. Ino crouches next to me, an arm around my shoulder - bringing my head to rest in the crook of her neck. “Shika,” She murmurs comfortingly. “It hurts. I  _ know _ \- but she had to to the best she could. I know mindscapes, Shika. Me looking like this, right now? You’re doubting everyone right now, right? Because if Noa wasn’t who she said she was, then who is?”

I choke on my sobs. Ino pulls me closer. 

“Tsubasa Noa - who is the orphan Noa, and demon Hisoka, and the baby Tsubasa Hisoka - loves you. Sure, you two fooled the village, laying false trails left and right like the damn Shinobi you are - the  _ Nara _ you are - but you can’t fool me.  _ I know you, _ Shikamaru. You can’t lie to me. Not out there, not in here. But, yes - right now, she’s gone.”

I wait for the ‘but,’ but it never comes. I draw myself up - hand clutching my chest still, yes, but far better … if not emotionally drained. “So?” I dare to ask, “She’s been labeled as a  _ missing-nin _ , Ino. My … Noa is an A-Ranked threat for her murder of the rest of her clan. She’s being scapegoated for what  _ Danzo - _ ”

“ _ That _ is  _ exactly _ my point, Shika!” Ino cuts me off, fire in her eyes. “ _ Danzo _ , Shika. The longer you let yourself  _ rot _ the more control Danzo has. Team 7, Team 8, and half the Clan Heads are already plotting to take the bastard down.”

I jolt, surprised that I missed something so huge, but-

I  _ was _ going around in a daze.

“But they need a strategist, Shika.” Ino coaxes, voice soft. “They need you.”

My fingers close around the fabric of my shirt, the fabric bunching and tearing under my hand. I take a deep breath. Hold it. Let it out.

When I look up into Ino’s pupil-less eyes, I feel a newfound determination. 

Absently, I remember a saying I heard somewhere. About the Clans of Konoha.

 

_ ‘Any Konoha nin could tell you that there are three things to fear. A focused Inuzuka, an angry Aburame, and a motivated Nara.’ _

 

Danzo won’t even see it coming.

~~~

**KILLER BEE**

( _ *Damn, why’s it gotta be that the most interesting women there are are far to young for me?* _ )

All the same, regardless of how mysterious this silver haired angel is, it’s her stories she’s after.  That girl, cuz she ain’t much older than Karui, sure knew how to play up a crowd - natural performer, I’d say. ( _ *Just like me! - the one and the only Killer Bee!* _ )

( _ *And some stories they are; even with the laughter - I ain’t expecting no happily ever after.* _ )

The mist-made-men each have a slice of meat in front of them by the time I tear my eyes away from the pretty girl - Okurimono,  _ Okurimono _ \- and, despite not caring for either character, the girl’s narrative makes you want to know the ending.

( _ *Interesting fella. To think a girl with this kinda talent was floating around - no wonder she’s such a best sell-ah!* _ )

“The second man watched as his friend tore into the venison, and his stomach growled with jealousy. He looked down at his own plate, and somehow the thought of disregarding his own limits - ignoring the heavens, his heart - didn’t seem so terrible anymore.”

The music resumed with an ominous roll.

“After all, what could one bite hurt?”

( _ *Man, even a shinobi knows you’re limits are there for a reason - To dismiss them entirely: might as well just commit treason!* _ )

The music became something rapid, something anticipatory. ( _ *With a beat like the one this girl be tapping - this being a job is the only thing keeping me from rapping! _ *)

“And soon the both of them were eating, the taste amazing - the juices rich with garlic and the smell sharp with cloves. One bite became two. Two became three. Three to four to five to six to a dozen, to twenty, until soon the entire animal was gone - eaten evenly between them.”

The kids, the audience, seemed to groan at the men’s stupidity - leaning forward with morbid fascination and curiosity. Bee felt the same, in a way. (* _ Not that I believe it, but with nothing to do … what really happens when you break a taboo?* _ )

“That night, the two men went to bed with no regrets. After all, the first man made his friend happy and shared a full meal; while the second man broke his taboo, suffered not for it, and enjoyed the forbidden with only a pleasantly fully stomach to show for it.”

The two men retired for bed within their tent, the clearing shrinking as the story drew to a close; the sun dropping within the mist.

“While the men slept, however, the second man began to change.-” The tent is lit up in profile by the campfire, flickering. “First his hair began to shorten and spread, till he had a pelt covering every inch of his skin. Then his toes began to fuse - his fingers too. His hands hardened, and his spine shortened. He slept through it all - having fallen straight to sleep after his filling meal. By the time morning came and he woke he was a full grown buck with wide, pronged antlers and beady eyes.”

A magnificent stag, with eyes the same color as the second man’s coat, bounded out of the tent - only to be immediately grabbed by the neck by the first man. With a roll of the drum, and a flash of the campfire light, the buck was hefted into the air.

“His friend, unknowingly, drew a knife and slit his throat - thinking only of another savory meal.”

I watched as the campfire flashed like a bolt of lightning before dying into a simple pile of embers -

Before a sharp tear through my chest and distracts me from the rest of the story -

And then the screaming starts.

~~~~~~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you, Dreaming of Sunshine, for not immediately smiting me for using the “three things” quote, even if I paraphrase. Love you! Sorry~~!
> 
> And the story Okurimono tells: honestly, no idea where it came from. Might be a Native American tale…? Just know it’s beautiful and I adapted it for my own use. Please don’t shoot me.
> 
> Lots of Love!  
> Milo Of The Key


End file.
